Weekly Photography Tips - Speed

Photography is about telling a story and conveying what it was like to be there in that moment. As a photographer we typically get caught up in trying to freeze action so that everything in the image is crisp and clear. However for sports, motorsports in particular there are few images that convey the speed involved more than the blurred background shot.

This is a surprisingly easy shot to capture but it requires some practice and patience. Instead of choosing the fastest possible shutter speed you need to choose a slower one. For the images here I used 1/60 of a second. I would recommend shooting in Shutter Priority mode so the camera will handle the other settings for you.

Next you will need to swing the camera at about the same speed as the object you are photographing and fire off bursts of images. This can be physically demanding and getting your timing down will take a bit of practice. Some of your images will be completely blurry but with a little patience you will develop the rhythm and really capture that feeling of speed.

So grab your camera and head out to the closest track, practice makes perfect. These images were shot at CowBranch MX Park near Wilson, NC during a recent SEMA MX weekend event.

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